Photographic elements have long been known to utilize tabular silver halide grains comprising parallel faces. These grains provide many advantages including improved covering power and reduced silver coating weight as compared to conventional cubic or polymorphic grains. One particular disadvantage of tabular grains is the propensity to form thin silver filaments upon development. The filaments diffract light and impart a yellow color to the developed silver which makes the imaged silver appear brown instead of the aesthetically pleasing black. It has long been a desire in the art to provide a photographic element which takes full advantage of tabular grains without the inherent brown image color.
Titanium complexes are taught in the art as a means for crosslinking a hydrophilic colloid such as gelatin. Teachings in the art provide for the use of titanium complexes in concentrations of 1-40% by weight relative to the weight of the gelatin. At these levels titanium complexes are taught to improve hardening as measured by the melting point of the gelatin. Amounts approaching a minimal of 1% are not sufficient to increase hardening, as measured by melt points, and amounts over 40% provide minimal additional advantage. Therefore, it has not been considered advantagous in the art to utilize titanium complexes in small amounts since the expected benefit of improved hardening of the gelatin are not observed.